


Progress Report

by IsobelSionisFalcone



Series: Daughter of Steel [5]
Category: Fallout 4
Genre: Arthur is worried again, M/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-21
Updated: 2017-10-21
Packaged: 2019-01-20 22:12:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,860
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12442854
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IsobelSionisFalcone/pseuds/IsobelSionisFalcone
Summary: Danse goes searching for Hailey after she hasn't returned from the airport.





	Progress Report

Danse had made sure to lock Arthur's office door when he returned from the airport. He'd caught Arthur's gaze with his smoldering brown eyes and now, the two of them stood with the Elder's back pressed to the wall as the Paladin attacked his mouth with hungry, desperate kisses. It had been weeks since they'd had an opportunity like this. Not that Danse had a problem with gunning down Supermutants and synths, but he'd been missing this intimacy lately.

As he dipped his head to tongue a trail down Arthur's throat, he noticed a slight hesitation as the Elder's hand came to clutch his hair.

"What?" Danse asked, pulling back just enough to give him a questioning glance.

Arthur sighed and an anxious frown knitted his dark brows together. "Hailey's been gone a long time..."

Danse couldn't believe that, in his haste to see Arthur, he had forgotten to ask about his daughter wandering around the airport dressed as the Silver Shroud.

"What was she doing down there?" the Paladin asked. "And why was she wearing-

"It's a long story..." Arthur grimaced. "I sent her to look into the missing supplies, but that was over an hour ago."

"You're worried she's got herself into trouble?"

Again, Arthur sighed and chewed the inside of his cheek for a moment. "I assumed she'd only be asking a few questions. I don't know what she'd be doing all this time..."

With a soft chuckle that made the Elder feel a little more at ease, the Paladin said; "I'll go and find her. She can't have gone far. She knows she isn't allowed to leave the base."

Arthur nodded and Danse strode towards the door, but he paused to look back at his lover and, biting his lip, he retraced his steps to seal their lips once more. The younger man moaned as Danse slipped his tongue into his mouth, brushing it against Arthur's before nibbling his lower lip.

"You're one hell of a distraction," the Paladin said breathlessly.

"The sooner you find Hailey, the sooner we can get back to it," he stated, although his hands still cupped Danse's cheeks all the same. It was Arthur who dived in for a final, searing kiss that lasted a few short seconds, before the Paladin pulled away and left the office, collecting his armour from the bay, bound for the airport once more.

Even Danse couldn't deny that he was worried. It wasn't that he didn't trust Hailey, or that he thought she couldn't handle herself for an hour, but there was something about the situation, the people involved, the location - something, and he wasn't sure quite what, made him nervous. He reassured himself as the Vertibird departed that she'd be fine. She was most likely getting carried away in that costume. That had to be it. She'd asked questions and now she was wandering around the airport pretending to be the Silver Shroud.

He was having a rather difficult time convincing himself Hailey was safe.

As soon as the aircraft touched down on the landing pad, he headed straight for the supply depot. He'd never quite understood how entire crates of supplies could go missing in the first place. He would have looked into it himself if he hadn't been so busy in the field, lately. It bothered him that security was so apparently lax and it only made him worry all the more about what his daughter was doing.

Heads turned as he entered the depot, none more than Sargent Gavil. Danse was aware he hated to be disturbed, so the pursed lip look of borderline disrespectful discontent was hardly a surprise. He ignored it and confronted Gavil, but as expected, he wasn't really very helpful.

"I can't keep track of every waif and stray that wanders in here, sir."

"Watch your tone, Sargent," Danse ordered. "That's my daughter you're talking about. Did you see her leave at all?"

"No, sir," Gavil replies, the effort of having to show respect clearly wearing on him. "I didn't see her leave through the main door. I directed her to Lucia and Clarke before letting her conduct this... Investigation."

The Paladin nodded. "Thank you, Sargent. As you were."

Danse moved further into the depot, dissatisfied to find that both Clarke and Lucia were now off duty. He searched the room, combing through anything that might have had some clue as to where Hailey was and it wasn't until he came to the small door at the back that he noticed something flapping in the breeze. A black fibre was caught in the hinge and, upon pulling it out for closer inspection, he knew it could only have come from the Silver Shroud jacket. It wasn't the right material to be from a Brotherhood uniform.

Frowning as he pressed on out of the depot to the back of the airport, Danse became increasingly concerned. There was no sign of her here, either, although a trail of flattened reeds and long grass lead him further, around the corner to a plane wreckage. Someone had obviously been hiding, but what from? Where the sand wasn't littered with weeds, Danse noticed two sets of footprints, one belonging to a Brotherhood soldier, wearing standard issue uniform boots, the other undoubtedly smaller and more feminine. He sighed worriedly, wondering what on Earth Hailey had gotten herself into this time.

The smaller footprints lead to a sheet of metal that had been torn from one of the planes and lay jutting out from the sand. Whoever had been here (he had no doubt that it was his daughter) had hidden here, the prints turning and twisting as she'd presumably crouched behind it. She'd been tracking someone as a part of her investigation and Danse felt proud that she was taking her duties seriously, but he picked up the trail once more and paused at the door to the ruins.

Traces of rust that mingled with the sand below indicated it had been opened recently. This part of the base wasn't used as the reports detailed the mostly collapsed terminal beneath. If Hailey had gone down there, he had to find her, quickly. There was no telling what was in there, not to mention the whole place was structurally unsound. She was in danger. It was Danse's duty as her father to ensure her safety!

The Paladin headed down into the abandoned airport terminal, determined to find Hailey and bring her back safely. It was with a grimace he thought about Arthur's response, if he'd known she was down here. It wouldn't be pleasant when they returned to the Prydwen, but Danse had to push those thoughts to the back of his mind for the time being. He had to find Hailey and make sure she was alright.

It was eerily quiet, considering there were, if Danse was correct, two others down present. The teenager had always been light on her feet and she'd left no trace behind by the old escalators, but whoever she had been following would be wearing heavy boots. That created yet another cause for concern because he had no idea who he was dealing with. Surely, none of his colleagues would consider turning on Hailey, even if they were guilty of taking the supplies, but that thought wasn't enough to quell the dread that settled in his stomach...

Suddenly, the unmistakable Brotherhood rallying cry rang out through the ruin and the sounds of lazer fire followed. Danse's heart began to pound, for the voice had definitely been female. His footfalls sounded just as loud in the power armour as he sprinted towards the noise, the ground shaking with the heavy impact of each step. Now, he could hear the rasping growls of feral ghouls and he caught sight of one a little way ahead, launching itself at something around the corner. Before it reached its target, a red beam lit up the grey concrete and struck the ghoul, turning it to ashes.

Danse was relieved to see Hailey unharmed upon rounding the corner. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he was surprised at how quickly she could reload her rifle, but he couldn't suppress the care, the worry that sharpened his tone.

"What are you doing down here, Hailey?" he demanded. "This is dangerous. You're going to get hurt. I thought you were looking into missing supplies."

"I am!" Hailey cried. "I didn't know there were ferals down here! This is where the trail lead me."

"What trail?" Danse asked. "You shouldn't even be here. This whole place could collapse any minute with you inside. You should have reported your findings to Captain Kells instead of putting yourself at risk."

"Dad, I'm only doing what I was told-

"I repeat; it isn't safe. You're going to get hurt," he said firmly.

"I'm sorry..." she muttered, looking up at him with those big, honey-coloured eyes. She'd always been good at manipulating him like that. "I just wanted to prove that I could do this. I didn't want to let you guys down. I got this far into my investigation on my own and I'm close! I can feel it! I just need to find out where Clarke went."

Danse studied her face for a long moment, eyebrows pulled together and lips turned down in an utterly pleading gaze. Eventually, he sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Fine," he conceded, "but I'm coming with you."

Hailey giggled and pulled the white scarf from beneath the black trench coat. "You've got power armour grease on your nose," she said, standing on tiptoe to rub the material over the oily mark. Danse couldn't help smiling as she tucked her scarf back in.

"Report, soldier," he says. "What have you found out so far?"

The teenager beamed at the use of his 'Paladin' tone. "I went to the depot to question Knight Sargent Gavil. He doesn't know anything about the supplies being taken, but he directed me to Knight Lucia and Initiate Clarke, instead. I spoke to Lucia and she reported that Clarke has been acting strangely for a little while now. He's apparently being sneaking off at the end of his shifts and turning up late, not speaking to her even though they were close friends."

"So Clarke wandered off and you followed him down here," Danse confirmed. "I admit, that does sound suspicious. There's no reason for anyone to be here. A majority of the terminal is collapsed and a sweep and retrieve op yielded nothing."

"Exactly," she said, eyes boring into his. "He's up to something and, whether it has anything to do with the supplies or not, he came into this place with a purpose. Ferals don't just appear overnight. He's been here before, so he must know they're right underneath the base."

Danse hummed in thought. "He certainly hasn't reported it..." the Paladin said with a frown. "Something's not right here. Where missing a link and whatever it is, we need to find it." Hailey's enthusiastic smile made sure he didn't forget to add; "Good work, soldier. Let's head further down. Maybe we'll find some answers."


End file.
